LOS ANGELES — After dropping its season opener at home and toiling on the road for three straight, the Angel City Football Club earned its first win of 2024 at BMO Stadium, holding off the dangerous North Carolina Courage, 2-1.
Two goals by Claire Emslie held up on Sunday as North Carolina was unable to rally for its first away point five games into the NWSL season.
Coming off back-to-back shutout victories, the Courage (3-2-0, 9 points) had not conceded a goal for 262 minutes until Emslie’s brilliant free kick in the 23rd minute.
Taken straight away from 20 yards out, Emslie’s shot was set up by midfielder Rocky Rodriguez, who attempted to sneak a pass through North Carolina’s stingy defense to Alyssa Thompson as the young forward made a darting run to the box.
Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz received a yellow card after she bodied Thompson to the grass, giving ACFC (2-2-1, 7 points) a perfect spot from which to shoot over the wall and bend it away from outstretched U.S. international goalkeeper Casey Murphy.
The 1-0 lead held up through the break, even as North Carolina worked into increasingly dangerous spots around the Angel City box.
Forward Tyler Lussi was in alone at the back post in the 37th minute, but the Courage forward scuffed her volley attempt over the bar.
That trend continued into the early portion of the second half, and the home side was fortunate to hold onto the lead when Angel City captain Sarah Gorden stepped in front of a shot before a follow-up attempt clanged off the post.
Emslie and Thompson had a more direct combination for Angel City’s second goal of the game.
From midfield, Thompson hit a through ball that offered Emslie room to take one touch to reach the edge of the box. Unsure if she should challenge the Angel City forward or stay in the goal mouth, Murphy was stuck in no woman’s land as Emslie’s cheeky chip rainbowed over the top of the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 in the 54th minute.
The brace, Emslie’s first in NSWL play, gave the Scottish forward a team-leading three goals in five games before being substituted out of the game after 64 minutes.
“Just three points, that’s it,” Emslie said. “That’s all we need.”
A short time later an offside call wiped away a North Carolina goal, but the visitors cut their deficit in half in the 73rd minute.
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This time Kurtz helped her side when she absorbed a foul by Madison Curry to the left of the Angel City box. The subsequent free kick glanced off the head of Angel City’s Rodiguez toward the far post, where this time Lussi made the most of a chance with the inside of her right thigh, scoring her second goal of the year.
For the remaining half an hour, including 10 minutes of stoppage time, Angel City made the one-goal advantage hold up to secure consecutive wins after earning one point in their first three games.
For Angel City coach Becki Tweed, the result was indicative of what the team focused on during the week: competing from the opening through the final whistle.
Sunday’s winning performance in front of an announced sell-out at BMO Stadium came two days after the team traded away Paige Nielsen and Amandine Henry — moves the team described as “strategic” as they added $125,000 in allocation money.
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